tropism

[ troh-piz-uhm ]

/ ˈtroʊ pɪz əm /

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noun Biology.

an orientation of an organism to an external stimulus, as light, especially by growth rather than by movement.

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Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

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Origin of tropism

First recorded in 1895–1900; independent use of -tropism

OTHER WORDS FROM tropism

tro·pis·mat·ic

[troh-piz-mat-ik], /ˌtroʊ pɪzˈmæt ɪk/, adjectivetro·pis·tic

[troh-pis-tik], /troʊˈpɪs tɪk/, adjective

Words nearby tropism

tropical year, tropic bird, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, tropine, tropism, tropo-, tropocollagen, tropology, tropomyosin, troponin

Other definitions for tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

variant of -tropy.

Origin of -tropism

see origin at -tropy, -ism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use tropism in a sentence

In those two books, the existential shows itself gradually—breast cancer in the first, a physiological tropism in the second.
Joshua Ferris’s New Novel Chronicles an Existential Dentist in Despair|Tom LeClair|May 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still, Cuccinelli has shown his own tropism toward the kindness of strangers.
The It Factor in Virginia’s Governor’s Race: Modernity|Lloyd Green|July 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This may be a tropism (stereotropism) or it may be a mere surface tension phenomenon.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
It's the same old disregard, or it's the same old psycho-tropism, or process of assimilation.
The Book of the Damned|Charles Fort

We shall in the succeeding series of papers deal with the subject of tropism in general.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
The workers, on the other hand, who have to be in and out of the nest about their business, do not have this tropism.
Natural Wonders|Edwin Tenney Brewster
Nevertheless this is the psycho-tropism of science to all "thunderstones" said to have fallen luminously.
The Book of the Damned|Charles Fort

British Dictionary definitions for tropism (1 of 2)

tropism

/ (ˈtrəʊpɪzəm) /

noun

the response of an organism, esp a plant, to an external stimulus by growth in a direction determined by the stimulus

Derived forms of tropism

tropismatic, adjectivetropistic (trəʊˈpɪstɪk), adjective

Word Origin for tropism

from Greek tropos a turn

British Dictionary definitions for tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

-tropy

n combining form

indicating a tendency to turn or develop in response to a certain stimulusphototropism

Word Origin for -tropism

from Greek tropos a turn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for tropism (1 of 2)

tropism

[ trō′pĭz′əm ]

The turning or bending movement of a living organism or part toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity.

Other words from tropism

tro′pic, tro•pis′tic adj.

Medical definitions for tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

suff.

Tropism:stereotropism.

Scientific definitions for tropism

tropism

[ trō′pĭz′əm ]

The growth or movement of a living organism or anatomical structure toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity. See also geotropism hydrotropism phototropism.

Other words from tropism

tropistic adjective